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"Since this is a military-strategic headquarters, the leadership of a Common Security and Defence Policy mission, requires the corresponding proximity to the political institutions."

EU ministers are due to meet on September 26 and 27 in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava to discuss the possibility of deeper integration between EU member states.

A decision on whether the experimental EU army is expected in December.

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Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande are thought to be pushing the idea of an EU army onto the agenda

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon reaffirmed Britain's opposition to the creation of the European army, stating that the UK would veto any move while it remained a member of the bureaucratic Brussels bloc.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has mooted at the idea of the a "common military force" during the last EU meeting in Bratislava – where the UK was not invited.

Sir Michael said: "That is not going to happen. We are full members of the EU and we will go on resisting any attempt to set up a rival to Nato.

"We have always been concerned about unnecessarily duplicating what we already have in Nato."

Relations between Britain and the EU have become increasingly strained in recent weeks, with fears the veto threat could damage the UK's chances of continued access to the single market once Theresa May triggers Article 50.

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Herman Van Rompuy has said Brexit negotiations would be 'difficult'

Former European Council president Herman van Rompuy said Brexit negotiations would be “difficult” for Britain, with key EU member states Germany and France holding decisive general elections next year.

The EU’s leading Brexit negotiators, former Belgium prime minister Guy Verhofstadt and finance expert Michel Barnier, have both previously indicated their desire for the 27-member state bloc to drive a hard bargain with Britain in Brexit talks.